Twists and turns abound in director David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, this transfer by Universal appears to be very solid and well done. Sporting bright colors and even black levels, the image looks great save for a few instances of edge enhancement in a few key scenes. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1/i>

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Overview

Twists and turns abound in director David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, this transfer by Universal appears to be very solid and well done. Sporting bright colors and even black levels, the image looks great save for a few instances of edge enhancement in a few key scenes. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround as well as DTS 5.1 Surround, both in English. Each of these soundtracks are very full and lively with only the slightest amount of mixing troubles in some of the speakers (some music tends to sound far too loud in some scenes). Overall, the fidelity and range on each of these mixes are great. Also included on this disc are Spanish and French subtitles. On par with Lynch's other DVD releases, no chapter stops are included on this disc, which makes watching the movie in separate sittings difficult. The bonus materials for Mulholland Drive are at the bare minimum -- the extra features on this DVD include a few pages of cast and crew info, a theatrical trailer, and "David Lynch's 10 Clues to Unlocking This Thriller" notes.

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Gregory Baird

Dreams of Hollywood stardom become nightmares in Mulholland Dr., a masterful psychological thriller from David Lynch. Newcomer Naomi Watts gives a breakout performance as an aspiring young actress whose friendship with a mysterious, voluptuously beautiful brunette amnesiac (Laura Elena Harring) evolves into something much more. The pair's search for Harring’s identity becomes the film's main story line, but it's flanked by several obliquely connected subplots, all set against the backdrop of a Hollywood rife with Lynch's typically surreal quotient of freaks and weirdos, enigmatic cabals, and obscure conspiracies. The unraveling of the film's central mystery eventually dissolves the very fabric of screen reality, allowing a dark truth to gradually emerge. It's all mind-bending, to say the least, and consummately eerie, yet leavened by Lynch's trademark offbeat humor. Watts is nothing short of perfection: Her young, would-be starlet is sexy, eager to please, vulnerable, and afflicted with the kind of curiosity that kills cats -- qualities that make the Sapphic love story at the heart of the film both moving and intensely erotic. Lynch's longtime collaborator Angelo Badalamenti contributes a haunting score that works in tandem with an unnerving tapestry of aural textures to accentuate the aura of subliminal menace. But it’s the unique structure, in which conventional narrative progression is entirely replaced by dream logic, that the film achieves an almost psychedelic potency. Mulholland Dr. may have echoes of Lynch’s Lost Highway and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me but this modern masterpiece is in a genre all its own.

All Movie Guide

Early on in Mulholland Drive, a man sits in a Hollywood greasy spoon, relating a dream to a friend sitting across from him. The dream, he explains, took place in the same diner, only in the dream some unspeakably evil presence lived behind it. He's come here now to prove to himself that the dream wasn't real. After paying the check, he and his companion venture outside and walk around to the back of the building. Sure enough, an almost ludicrously hideous face appears from behind a cinder black wall, and the man faints dead away. The scene is pure David Lynch: Simultaneously silly and terrifying, it provides a clue of sorts to the film as a whole. Mulholland Drive operates according to the relentless logic of dreams -- the only kind of logic that matters to Lynch. Like some kind of reverse Occam's razor, the most outlandish explanation for any given situation is inevitably right. The film is full of repeated motifs (the diner is one) and shifting identities, all pivoting on Lynch's familiar obsessions -- sexy innocents ripe for corruption, mysterious strangers speaking in riddles, and sugary pop songs made over as haunting arias, to name a few -- but the connections only become apparent in the film's final third. Lynch plays it relatively straight in the beginning. When wholesome, fresh-faced Betty (Naomi Watts) and beautiful, amnesia-stricken Rita (Laura Elena Harring) embark on their plan to discover Rita's true identity, one almost believes that the answer will lie with the shadowy criminal syndicate that seems to be behind Rita's attempted murder, the near ruination of movie director Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux), and the activities of a hilariously inept hit man who has to keep shooting the witnesses to his bungled handiwork. But after the two women discover Diane Selwyn's corpse, the film's dream logic takes over, and suddenly no one is who they appear to be -- least of all Betty. Newcomer Watts' bold performance makes her eventual transformation (which is set in motion by a genuinely steamy love scene -- a rare thing in recent American movies) all the more stunning. Lynch seems to have benefited from developing the project for television, which isn't very forgiving of unstructured weirdness, and from finishing it thanks to French producers who were willing to indulge his more arcane tastes. Unlike Lost Highway, which felt like an incoherent mishmash of self-consciously spooky incidents, Mulholland Drive's madness has some method to it.

Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman

Mulholland Drive may on some level be a sacramental dream as rerun, but Lynch is such a hypnotic craftsman that he holds you in his thrall.

Village Voice - J. Hoberman

Thrilling and ludicrous. The movie feels entirely instinctual.

New York Times

Its investigation into the power of movies pierces a void from which you can hear the screams of a ravenous demon whose appetites can never be slaked. Stephen Holden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

If I hadn't been at the theater with friends I would have walked out half way through the movie. It made no sense. I was exasperated with it. But then, about half way through something turned a corner, and it went from being potentially my most hated film to being my favorite. A few pieces started falling into place and I went from hating the non-linear, non-sensical narrative to absorbed in trying to make sense of it.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

Watch this movie. The visual and aural spectacles alone are worth your investment in the film, especially after the plot seems to descend into lunacy. Formally, this is probably Lynch¿s most beautiful film to date. Watts undeniably gives a smoldering, intense performance that carries the entire cast. I was floored by the way she lulls us into almost writing her off before she blows up. And trust yourself to develop insights about the film without the aid of online research. In promoting the movie, the filmmaker and actors were deliberately vague in offering any definitive reading for a couple of reasons. Most important of these is that the viewer should be free to ponder the movie. We are certainly not left without some sort of narrative guidance. Most useful are visual cues, highlighted by Lynch¿s stylized lighting and framing; by stringing together repetitive images--even just hues and shades--I went pretty far in my thinking about the movie. I am dead-certain that my own interpretation is most logical, but I¿ve heard others that are creative, justifiable and a lot of fun. Remember that Mulholland Dr. was the b@stard child of Lynch¿s failed attempt at a dramatic series for ABC Television. The first two-thirds of the picture were filmed prior to cancellation of the project, and the rest was filmed much later, after Lynch was struck with an epiphany for concluding the storyline. It was almost by serendipity that he completed what may have been the best film of 2001. Ultimately, my suggestion for enjoying this film is to let it wash over you, and in so doing, you will absorb all the information to cobble together a sensible narrative that may just reveal Lynch¿s intentions. Don¿t leave your thinking to others and let them have all the fun.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This is the second Lynch film I have viewed and I must say that my level of respect for him has just shot through the cieling. The more confusing this film gets, the more beautiful it becomes. And the lesbian scenes between Watts and Herring where great too!

necronomicon

More than 1 year ago

This is one of those rare movies that you can see over and over again and not get tired of it. Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring are fantastic and quite good actressess. The guys are OK. But, it's the plot that's the real true star here. If you like to see how dreams and reality can be easily confounded, intertwined, blended or else, try this. Highly recommended. Say no more. Also, try "Wild at Heart"

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This is an excellent work of art. In true David Lynch style, the plot tosses your mind around like a toy ball...The amazing thing about this movie is the different interpretations of it that everyone will have...I interpertered something that I don't want to share because it might spoil it all for you, but other people had totally different views of it. Either way, this movie will intrigue you and TOTALLY FREAK THE CRUD OUT OF YOU. Enjoy it and marvel in it's complexity.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Actually, this movie isn't really that confusing, and it makes a lot more sense than you think. You have to know that Lynch is sort of a neo-Surrealist filmmaker, although he has a flare for Hitchcockian mystery. You just can't try to make sense of every image and every scene, because the narrative is too often ruled by dream logic. However, the film can easily be interpreted as an exploration of the human mind during extremes of pain and obsession, taking place in both reality and fantasy. If you think this is supposed to be conventional storytelling, you will certainly be confused. Having gotten that out of the way, I think Mulholland Dr. is a rich and haunting movie that deserves to be watched over and over.

Math_prime

More than 1 year ago

This film is excellent! It can be interpreted during your first viewing about connections between people. After the second or more viewings, the richness and complexity of the connections become more clear. Lynch is brilliant!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

Not just the best movie of 2001, but one of the best movies ever! A 2 and 1/2 hour joyride through the surreal world of David Lynch that will leave you stunned and grasping for more at its conclusion. A movie that you have to see several times to appreciate the visual clues that are hidden in the movie. Lynch lists 10 ''clues'' on the DVD liner, but are some of them ''red herrings'' designed to throw you off track? Part dream, part reality, part flashbacks, part fantasy, Mulholland Drive leaves it up to the viewer to decide which part is which. And like an abstract painting, the meaning, and beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The movie explores the seamy side of Hollywood as told throught he eyes of innocent newcomer Betty Elms. The story is dark and haunting, but pulls you in as though you are a part of it. A movie that makes you think and haunts you long after you've seen it. So take a ride on ''Mulholland Drive'' where things aren't exactly as they seem. You won't be disappointed.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

My son said wait till the end...then you'll get it. I did. I don't. But what a classy ride anyway! The money in the bag came from....where? The cowboy is...who? Is Camilla Rhodes #1 really Betty/Diane? Is Camilla #2 dead and having an afterdeath experience? Who the heck was the guy with the 2 dreams at Winkie's? Did he die? Or faint? Is this just another tie-in with Winkie's? Is Lynch the reincarnation of Hitchcock...on drugs? ...because when you think about it, Vertigo had the same great draw but kept you thinking dream?...or reality?....silly?... or worthwhile? A joke on us from the director? Or a present? Lynch has a way of pulling you in and keeping you riveted. And confused. Of course. And where do I find that Spanish version of ''Crying''?

Guest

More than 1 year ago

this movie made little sense to me at first, but then i researched it on the net. i was able to find out all the answers to my questions and found that after figuring it out, i fell that much more in love with it. some say it has no plot or story line, but it certainly does! even without understanding what the movie was about at first, the beaty and intensity of it is worth watching time and time again. very powerful and moving. pay very close attention, watch it 5 times if you need to and find the answers to your questions on the internet -- i promise it is totally worth seeing!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

Lynch has outdone himself with this masterpiece of psychological mayhem. Fans of DL's work will eat this up like instant breakfast. Others may cringe. It has to be seen by anyone interested in the future of cinema, especially mysteries and psychological dramas. It's better than Memento, but in the same category. I may never truly understand the core concepts to this film. Lynch is light years ahead of most of his peers in technique, craft, weaving the plot, and unweaving reality.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This film makes perfect sense - all you need to do is pay attention to it.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

to those who complain about this movie not having a plot --- go and watch linear-plot action flicks instead, there is certainly an abundant selection of those to suit its targeted brainless audience. i was like ''what the !@#$ is going on here'' through the whole movie, but that was the fun of it... if i can guess what's going to happen next (unfortunately as with most movies these days), why should i bother wasting my time watching the movie in the first place? the ''llorando'' scene was beautiful! really nicely done. mr. lynch was able to carry that eerie feeling through the movie without making it cheap like those stupid shock-techniques.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

If you didn't understand the movie, you might need to do a little research. Not everything comes easy, and that's the great thing about David Lynch. Go to Salon, search for 'Mulholland Drive,' and read the best analysis I've seen out there. Or, read up on David Lynch. His conventions and symbolism have a certain consistency to them.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

But this movie knocked me over, like the first time I saw ''Blue Velvet''. Though not very graphic, it has the hottest lesbian sex scenes ever filmed!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

Psychosis mind reveal, in an ''schizophrenic way''.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

Malholan Dr. was really cool!!! i was excited!!it was too hard to understand what the film is really about, so i was watching it for four times, but........:( Lynch always has his style to do so, that people were excited and shocked,fascinated and confused!!( a short example: TwinPeeks!) and i also was very excited of love plays between women!!!it was cool!!!marvelous!!fantastic!!with Rita/Kamila i would also agree have something they both did. so i really think, that this woman-Laura E.Harring with such beautiful,atractive brown eyes could have not only all men, but also women!!! she atracts your look,and during the film you just sit under control of that woman!! i think i'll watch this film once more again.but i'm not sure why? to get the meaning clear(although it's impossible!), or to see her....

Guest

More than 1 year ago

If you enjoy straight ahead action and entertainment, don't bother watching this movie. I have never been a big fan of Lynch and only watched this movie after being asked to offer a theory of it's meaning. The first two hours are pretty straight forward and fairly engrossing, but far from being the indecipherable mystery advertised. All of that changes approximately 2 hours into the movie. Lynch alters your perceptions and forces you to question everything you believed to be true. The climax of the movie alternates between the past, present and fantasy worlds - all leading to the inevitable conclusion that will leave you thinking well past the ending credits. A rare movie that makes you think and form your own conclusions. Highly recommended.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

Exquisitely photographed, alluring, haunting portrait of something that is beautiful but difficult to grasp. Only one problem with the DVD is that you can't search by scene, probably a calculated ploy by Lynch to discourage fast forwarding to the lesbo stuff, which is pretty damn good.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This film is one of the best films I have ever seen. Anyone who would write Mulholland Drive off as a horrible film obviously are not getting the whole essence of a David Lynch film and should probably stick to something more predictable. Mulholland Drive is an emotional ride, a film noir mystery with a tone of twisted loose ends. Set in LA, a woman is in a limo accident on Mulholland Drive. Bruised and amnesiac, she wonders into the home of an actress who is away shooting a film, only to encounter her bright-eyed and bushytailed niece Betty. Betty has come to Hollywood to follow her dream of becoming an actress herself, only to become involved in the mystery of who ''Rita'' really is. Filled with symbolic and peculiar Lynchian characters, Mulholland Drive is more like a journey through Hollywood Babylon rather than a film. In the usual David Lynch fashion, the film turns a complete 180 in the last half and manages to intrigue, amuse, and disturb you at one point or another.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

The 10 ''clues'' to solving this thriller? I don't think there is a definitive solution for this one. Aunt Ruth throwing the light switch and checking the empty room left this one open to one of those read into it what you want to films. However the ride to the last 30 min. was hypnotic and true Lynch brilliance.